Real Estate License from South Dakota to Arkansas: Does It Transfer? (2026)
Does Arkansas accept a South Dakota real estate license?
Yes — Arkansas has a reciprocity arrangement covering South Dakota license holders. Apply to the Arkansas Real Estate Commission (AREC) under its reciprocity/endorsement track; it typically waives the national exam portion and complete Arkansas's remaining requirements.
Verify this exact pair in the checker
Same data, interactive — with share link and board links.
Verdict
Reciprocity agreement
South Dakota is on Arkansas's recognition list, which puts this move on the streamlined track: your education and national exam are credited, and the requirements below are what Arkansas still insists on — typically its own law exam and a background check. One caution: agreements are directional and revocable. This page's verification date tells you when we last confirmed South Dakota on the list; the commission link is the live truth.
What's different between South Dakota and Arkansas
Computed from both states' verified data rows, in both directions, and from the route every other origin gets into Arkansas. Exam notes are our summary of each board's published rules, with sources below.
- Route, each way
South Dakota to Arkansas (this page): Reciprocity agreement.
Arkansas to South Dakota (the reverse move): Licensure by endorsement.
The two directions differ: South Dakota and Arkansas do not give each other's licensees the same route.
- Does coming from South Dakota matter?
Coming from South Dakota matters here: only 15 of 50 origins (the other 49 states and DC) get this result for a move into Arkansas.
The others get: licensure by endorsement (35).
- Reciprocity agreements
Arkansas's reciprocity agreement list names 15 states, including South Dakota.
South Dakota's row names no reciprocity agreement states.
- Application fee
Arkansas lists $75 for an out-of-state applicant and South Dakota lists $225 for the reverse move; neither may be the full cost.
- Pre-license education
Arkansas's first-time-applicant standard is 60 hours of pre-license education; South Dakota has no education hours figure on file, so the two cannot be compared here.
- Exam rules on record
Arkansas and South Dakota carry different exam notes (our summaries, below); any state law or jurisprudence exam is listed with each state's requirements.
- Arkansas (this move): A salesperson licensed in another state at the same level may request a waiver of the GENERAL portion of the exam and take only the Arkansas Law portion, provided they passed a uniform/general/multi-state exam elsewhere (minimum passing grade 70) and remain licensed in that state (Commission Regulation 4.2(d)).
- South Dakota (the reverse move): A non-resident already licensed elsewhere obtains the equivalent South Dakota license by passing only the South Dakota state-law portion of the exam (submit the original state-portion score report); South Dakota pre-licensing education and the national exam portion are not required
What changes, South Dakota → Arkansas
| South Dakota (current) | Arkansas (destination) | |
|---|---|---|
| Pre-license education | — | 60 |
| Application fee | $225 (Application Fee - Salesperson (reciprocal only) $225; plus a $50 DCI fingerprint fee and an approx. $98 state-portion exam fee payable to the testing company) | $75 (License fee $50 + Real Estate Recovery Fund fee $25 = $75 paid to AREC. Plus a $75 Pearson VUE exam fee (Arkansas Law portion for reciprocal applicants).) |
| Processing time | Commission does not publish a processing-time estimate | AREC does not publish a fixed processing time; the score report and fees must be received within 90 days of the exam |
| Licensing authority | South Dakota Real Estate Commission (SDREC) / SD Department of Labor & Regulation | Arkansas Real Estate Commission (AREC) |
The destination column is what you must satisfy — Arkansas sets the rules for this move.
Step by step
- Confirm Arkansas's current requirements on the Arkansas Real Estate Commission (AREC) website (linked below) — rules change.
- Submit the reciprocity application to the Arkansas Real Estate Commission (AREC) (application linked below).
- Arrange license verification from your current state.
- Hold a current same-level (salesperson) license in another state.
- Submit an official license history from the current state.
- Complete State and Federal (FBI) criminal background checks.
- Pass the Arkansas Law portion of the salesperson examination.
- Submit the score report and fees within 90 days of passing the exam.
- Pay the fees listed above, and allow for the processing time shown there.
Official links
Related guides
Frequently asked questions
Can I keep selling in South Dakota after I'm licensed in Arkansas?
Yes — real estate licenses stack. Keep the South Dakota license active (renewals and CE continue separately) and you hold both; many border-market agents do exactly this.
Sources
Primary sources only — official boards and compact commissions. Data last verified 2026-07-21.
- AREC - Reciprocal States (list of 15 reciprocal-agreement states) ↗ (accessed 2026-07-21)
- AREC - Real Estate Applicants (60 classroom hours; out-of-state general-exam waiver, Reg. 4.2) ↗ (accessed 2026-07-21)
- AREC - Frequently Asked Questions (exam fee $75; license fee $50 + $25 recovery fund) ↗ (accessed 2026-07-21)
- SD Real Estate Commission - Non-Resident Licensing Information ↗ (accessed 2026-07-21)
- SD Real Estate Commission - License Types and Requirements ↗ (accessed 2026-07-21)
- SD Real Estate Commission - Fee Schedule ↗ (accessed 2026-07-21)
Reviewed by the License Reciprocity Editorial Team · verified against primary sources 2026-07-21
How we verify · All sources · Corrections log · spot an error? hello@licensereciprocity.com